The Star Prince
by BigDestiny
Summary: Three weeks after the events of Star Pupil, Kurt's grandmother arrives in town.  With a request, and news that will throw Kurt's life back into turmoil.  Any readers looking for answers to the questions in Star Pupil, they be here.
1. Chapter 1

Well, this is the main show, everyone. As you can see, there's a rather important genre change here. Rest assured that I'm going to be working hard to make sure this is just as grounded in reality as I can manage. This is the same universe as Star Pupil, and I want to make sure it doesn't become a caricature of it.

The usual disclaimers apply. Don't own Glee, which shouldn't be a surprise. I can imagine the horrified reaction of Fox's execs if I brought Star Pupil to them and told them it was the new episode we were filming.

The Star Prince by Big Destiny

Part one

When he first saw them, Finn Hudson was convinced that he and Kurt had made a mistake walking home. Sure, he found out later it wouldn't have made a difference, but at that point Finn was wishing it had rained that day.

It had been a great day, though. The weather was perfect ('glorious' was the term Rachel had used) right from the moment the sun came up. And after checking on-line and determining that it was going to stay like this for several days, Kurt had insisted that they were going to walk to the mall to meet the other Gleeks. Which Finn could have never guessed would happen, because Kurt was so pale Finn was sure Kurt glared at the sun every time he saw it.

Finn should have guessed a neon blue parasol would be involved.

The rest of the day had followed the weather's glorious example. Quinn had finally gotten back into her pre-Prego jeans. A guy had flirted with Mercedes. And Kurt had found a hat that was apparently a good deal, despite the fact that even the sale price was more than the other boys usually paid for pants. At one point Kurt had even frowned and said things were going too well. Finn told him that he was worried for nothing.

Now, Finn was starting to wonder if Kurt was on to something.

"Kurt-Hummel." There were five of them; four ordinary looking guys and a tall older woman, who was the one who had spoken. She was smiling, but that cool polite smile that college scouts gave you when they were about to tell you that you weren't UCLA material. Finn couldn't remember seeing them before. But given how bitchy Kurt suddenly looked, it was clear his almost-stepbrother knew who this woman was.

Kurt didn't even stop walking, at least not until the woman was right in front of him, not moving. "I have nothing to say to you," Kurt told her, Finn's second big surprise of the day, because it seemed like Kurt had something to say to everyone. Even if it was something nasty. Especially if it was something nasty.

Nothing seemed to be the wrong thing to say though, because the four men with her moved to circle Kurt and Finn. Finn looked around, realizing that they'd found the perfect place to ambush them. Walking home from the mall meant crossing the McKinley football field. Now that school was out, they were alone and isolated enough that no one would hear them.

Three weeks earlier, their house had been broken into. Kurt had been alone and amazingly he'd been able to take down all four guys by himself. But it had shaken him badly, and Finn figured that Kurt had probably gone back to never fighting. He hoped not, because despite how old the woman was, she looked pretty tough. And Finn didn't think he had much chance at five-on-one.

"Not here to talk, either." The woman had a heavy accent that Finn had never heard before, and it was clear from how stilted she was speaking that English wasn't her first language. Finn looked at her again, and the guys, trying to figure out what was going on. "You know why here I am."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I was expecting you a couple of years ago," he snapped. "It's a little late, now."

"Kurt, who are these guys?"

"Just better armed, more arrogant versions of Karofsky," Kurt answered, as if that made the five of them a simple annoyance.

The four of them that were moving were as quiet as death. Although Finn had never seen anything quite like what they were wearing, it looked similar to what martial art guys wore when they fought. And now they were armed? "That's not very encouraging," Finn whimpered.

The woman chuckled at that. "Come now, Kurt-Hummel." (and how weird was it the way she said that, like she didn't know she didn't have to say both names every single time) "Show your friend what you do."

"I've already offered to show Finn what I can do," Kurt sniffed in disgust. "Trust me, he's not interested."

"Wasting time," she sighed. She gestured to the man closest to Kurt, and before Finn could even blink this new guy had lunged forward and struck Kurt across the face. Hard enough to knock the boy to the ground.

Finn was on his knees at Kurt's side as fast as he could manage (which was triple the amount of time the attack had taken). Finn looked up at the woman, shocked. What was going on? Was this a bashing? Since when did women do that? Finn thought that women were usually cool with gays. Was this woman from that church that hates everyone? "Stop it. He didn't do anything to hurt you."

"I know." The woman seemed disappointed.

Kurt stood up, not seeming to notice the split lip he had or the parasol abandoned on the ground, as he glared at the leader of this odd little band. "It's all right, Finn. Trust me, she'll get bored any minute and disappear for another ten years."

The man that had just hit Kurt grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him so they were face to face. "NOW, [little pogol]!" he insisted, the one word Finn could understand making the older woman's English sound practiced in comparison. Finn had no idea what the man had just said, but it seemed to refer to Kurt, and Kurt glared daggers in response.

The older woman shook his head, quite clearly disappointed this time. "[Try the other.]"

Finn had a split second to wonder what she'd just said, before the guy punched him. Finn went down hard, his vision graying for a second. He didn't know why the guy hit HIM so much harder.

He had to have been. Because otherwise that would mean that Kurt was a lot tougher than he looked.

Kurt stepped in between Finn and his attacker. Oddly enough, he seemed more annoyed than frightened. "Stop it!"

"You know what to do to stop it," the woman told him.

"What's wrong with you?" Finn asked. "You really want him to hit you that badly? So what, you can say the gay provoked you?"

The woman was confused, and Kurt actually chuckled. But in that dark way that he'd started since the attack. That chuckle that meant this was pressing down on that bruise in his head killing those guys had caused. "Oh, this isn't a gay bashing. It's just a test."

"More," their attacker insisted. "Kill him you no fight."

Finn's blood went to ice, but Kurt just turned to the woman, exasperated. "You're unbelievable," he snapped. "Other people's grandmother's would have been on their hands and knees with a Dolce & Gabbana gift card after not being there for a decade. You? It's just get on with the emotional blackmail."

Finn was trying to take in THAT stunning bit of info when Kurt turned back to the guy that had hit them. Kurt tossed his hands up, melodramatically. It didn't LOOK like a surrender, and Finn had never heard the word that Kurt just used.

The attacker moved so quickly, it looked to Finn like he was in fast forward. Finn screamed Kurt's name.

Intellectually, Finn knew that Kurt had killed the guys that broke in to the house. But Kurt was just so little, so used to fighting with words, that Finn had assumed that the four deaths had been an accident. That the meth addicts had just stumbled onto the kitchen knives Kurt had had in his hands. It never occurred to Finn that Kurt might have done it on purpose.

At least that was what Finn thought until Kurt dodged the blow with Matrix like efficiency, at a speed that equaled his attacker's. And kicked the guy in the back with the same movement. Finn was amazed. All the fear and self doubt Kurt had carried with him throughout June suddenly seemed gone. Finn was reminded of what Kurt had once said about the night of the attack. That while it was happening Kurt had at least felt like he was in control.

They fought for a few minutes, a style Finn had never seen before. And might shortly not be able to see, if they kept moving at this ever increasing speed. But all too soon, the man stopped his attack, and pulled out the weapon Kurt had forecast. It looked like a two pronged fork, but in a split second it had telescoped out to a good five feet in length.

The two now-spear points on the one end looked deadly, and Finn could now see that the S-shaped shield on the other end was razor sharp as well.

Kurt took off his messenger bag, quickly emptied it, and held it in what looked like some kind of attack position. He snapped something in that weird language again, directed at the man in front of him again. The only words that Finn caught were Salvatore Ferragamo and 1900 dollars, which Finn remembered from his mom's excited/horrified gasp last month referred to the bag. The man chuckled, and tossed the… whatever he was holding at Kurt.

Kurt caught it with one hand, setting down the bag with a grateful nod. He waited just long enough for the man to pull out a second weapon before Kurt, amazingly, attacked HIM. They were once again moving at a speed Finn could follow, and he was shocked (he'd lost count how many times that had happened today) that Kurt seemed to know how to use that… whatever, as well as the other guy could.

At least, it seemed like that at first. As the action once again sped up, it was clear that Kurt wasn't nearly good enough to hold his attacker off for long. Kurt was already starting to back off after his attacks, which Finn guessed from what he'd seen of boxing was probably a bad sign.

The other guy pressed his advantage, driving Kurt back one swing at a time. Finn didn't realize that he was starting to follow until his foot kicked something.

Finn looked down to see Kurt's bag. Kurt had just told him that this was some kind of test, but Finn wasn't about to stand there when Kurt might be seriously hurt in the next few seconds.

And it wasn't like this would be the first test he'd cheated on.

Finn picked up the bag, and the second the guy attacking Kurt raised his… fork thing, Finn swung the bag at him. All he was aiming to do was hit the guy in the head, maybe distracting him long enough for Kurt to get a good hit in.

He distracted the guy, all right. The bag was just big enough that the shield end of the guy's weapon ended up inside it. Finn didn't want to think about what the tips were doing to the inside of the bag (he belated realized that he'd probably ruined Kurt's extremely expensive bag at the very moment that Kurt was both pissed off AND armed), but the guy was surprised enough to halt his attack, and look backwards at what he was caught up on.

Kurt took the opportunity to slam the shield end of HIS weapon into the guy's face.

The remaining three guys seemed to think this was funny, the youngest barely holding back a laugh. The woman (was she really Kurt's grandmother?) said something that was probably 'stop', given that both Kurt and the other guy moved into what looked like a rest stance. Kurt offered up the weapon he'd been given but the satisfied if embarrassed looking guy waved it off. Kurt un-telescoped it and tucked it into the back of his waistband, with a smoothness that once again said he knew what he was doing.

The woman said something else. Kurt's jaw tightened, and he replied in that same weird language. Kurt gestured to Finn, and the woman nodded and switched to English. "Haven't forgotten all, hmm?"

"I remember everything," Kurt declared, venomously. "So does my dad."

The woman's mouth twitched uncomfortably at that. "Much to talk about have we. See you an hour after the evening meal I will."

Kurt was clearly set to refuse this, but the woman swept off before he could get a syllable out. Her entourage followed, the youngest guy giving them a seemingly warm smile before he left.

There was a moment of silence as they watched their attackers vanish into the late afternoon. Finn finally turned to Kurt and asked, "What the hell just happened?"

* * *

"GAH! Finn, if this is how you react to 'later', our parents are going to have to break up again. Because I am NOT celebrating Christmas with 'this'."

Carole smiled, hearing the boys come in the front door even though she was busy preparing dinner. Whatever they were arguing about didn't seem to be all that serious, and it was actually cute hearing Kurt get worked up like this. At least he had something normal to get worked up over. It had only been in the last few days that Kurt could actually come in the kitchen and not think about what had gone down there.

Burt must have agreed, as he leaned over her shoulder (okay, he was grabbing a mushroom out of the bowl she had in her hand, as well) with a smile. "You can just see him making that frustrated little hand gesture at Finn when he's saying that."

"Come on! Kurt, you can't expect me to not be curious. Especially after what your grandmother just pulled."

Carole turned to Burt with an eyebrow raised in surprise. As a general rule, neither Hummel talked about Kurt's grandmother and Carole was suddenly itching with curiosity, just as her son was. That curiosity turned to alarm, however, when she saw Burt's reaction. "Honey, are you okay?"

Burt looked like the weight of the world had just been dropped on him, but he squared his shoulders. Concerned, but unsurprised. "Yeah, I-"

Kurt stormed into the kitchen, with Finn in tow. They both seemed satisfied to see Carole and Burt both there, and Kurt slammed what was either a long fork or the world's oddest signpost onto the table. Cutting off whatever Burt was going to say. "Grandmother paid me a little visit this afternoon," Kurt snapped.

Burt sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised."

Finn could though. "She tried to kill me! Well, her goons did!" Carole gasped, but Kurt was shaking his head.

"That was just her trying to manipulate me," he stated. "She wouldn't have really killed you."

"You're sure?" Carole asked, worried.

"He's sure," Burt told her. "Bebe, she- I don't want to freak you out, but I know she didn't try to kill him. If she did, he'd be dead."

"Precisely." Although Kurt didn't seem at all pleased by it.

Burt turned to his son, and Carole was embarrassed to realize that she hadn't even thought about how Kurt was. "You okay?" Burt asked.

Kurt looked rattled. Not as much as he had after the break-in, but more than he'd ever been before that. But he just nodded, "Yes. I've gotten used to being irritated."

Burt almost smiled at that. "She has that effect on people."

"She's coming here after dinner," Kurt grumbled. "No doubt wanting me to enter the trials next."

"Kurt, you had to expect that she'd be here for you eventually."

"I don't care!" Kurt shouted. "Where was she all these years? Where was she when Mom died? I don't care if she got in a fight with you, she wasn't there for me. So pardon my language, but FUCK! HER!"

Finn raised his hand awkwardly. "I'm gonna have to go with Kurt on this one."

"I wish it was that simple," Burt told him.

"Burt, what's going on?" Carole asked, totally confused. "I'm guessing some of this is about when your wife died, but I'm not following."

Burt looked over at Kurt, like he was expecting something. Apparently he was because Kurt nodded before Burt continued. "We've been wanting to tell you about this for a couple of months. I guess now's the time. Carole, dinner looks great. But I'm guessing after what Bebe put Kurt through, this isn't gonna hold him. Just give me a minute to order some dry ribs and I'll explain everything."

Burt pulled out his phone and stepped away for a minute. It was quiet only briefly before Kurt started fidgeting. "I wish she was coming back tomorrow. I had this all planned out. There were supposed to be stars. The stars were vitally important to the explanation."

Carole wished there was something she could do to make Kurt not look so unhappy. Finn must have agreed because he put a calming hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Kurt, it's okay. Just tell us; if it's 'vitally important', we can just pretend there are stars."

Kurt looked up at Finn, grateful (Carole hoped she hadn't just seen Kurt fall madly in love with her son again). "You heard about that planet they discovered? The one that they think might have life on it?"

"Yeah, we talked about it at work a couple of days ago," Carole told him, not sure what that had to do with what was going on.

"They got it all right, even the tidal lock," Kurt noted, "The scientists studying it gave it a letter designation, but we call that world Sateen.

"That's where my mom was born. That's where she died."

(to be continued)


	2. Chapter 2

I want to start by thanking everyone for their reviews and favoriting. I'm glad to see that people are willing to stick with this so far. Especially those of you not used to Science Fiction, like Varda Elena. I have to warn you there's a bit in the middle of this chapter (keep an eye on the water) that was actually what started this whole storyline. If you don't care for it, I hope you'll at least read to the end of the chapter. I've got the mother of all cliffhangers (quite literally, actually), and I hope it'll make up for some of the more outlandish plot twists.

The Star Prince - part two

Kurt was silent for the longest time, trying to decide what to say next. Honestly, as much as he'd told his dad he was ready for this, it was yet another burden in a year in which he'd already had to deal with too much. Fortunately, the Hudsons remained silent as well.

Until Finn broke the silence with a gasped, "Holy crap."

Kurt had to laugh a little at that. "Banal, but appropriate."

Carole didn't seem to think it was funny, frowning disapprovingly at Finn before turning her concerned gaze back to Kurt. "Kurt, that doesn't make any sense. If your mother was from another planet, that means-"

"You're an alien," Finn finished, with awe in his voice that Kurt found comforting. At least they weren't freaking out.

"Half alien," Kurt corrected. "My dad is completely human, remember." Finn nodded at that, trying to keep up. The nod was just a little too frantic for Kurt's liking.

Burt had hung up his phone and returned at this point. Overhearing what Kurt just said he commented, "I guess Kurt's already filled you in." It sounded so normal when put like that.

Kurt looked over at Carole's stunned face and frowned. "Dad didn't mean to keep you in the dark about this. We've been talking about telling you since things got serious with you two. It's just been- It's not exactly the easiest thing to talk about."

Carole flushed with embarrassment, automatically moving to hug Kurt. "Sweetheart, I'm not mad at you. I understand why it was so hard to say something." She pulled away just far enough to see Kurt before continuing. "I'm just confused. I mean, you look so real - I mean human!"

Kurt smiled at her. "I wish I could explain it; never really had an interest in biology."

"I'm probably getting the science all wrong," Burt jumped in, "but basically it comes down to space ships. You need the thumbs, and language, and a whole bunch of other things in order to get out into space. Sateen did that, we did that-"

"Or at least we have the potential," Kurt clarified. He considered himself every bit an Earthling, but it was disingenuous to compare a millennium old space empire to sending a couple of guys to their moon.

Burt nodded. "So we're the same. Mostly. Kurt can move faster than most people can, although that's as much training as anything else. His bones are stronger, and he never gets sick. I mean never; he once had a kid with the measles puke on him and he got nothing."

"Nothing on the inside," Kurt replied with a wince. "I lost a very valuable Osh Kosh pullover. Back then I didn't-"

Kurt broke off suddenly, but Burt was staring at him now. A non-clueless stare. Not surprisingly, since Kurt wasn't sure how he'd kept it a secret even this long. "Didn't what?"

Kurt blushed. He went to get himself a glass of water. "I- I wasn't sure how to bring this up, either, but- I kind of can, you know… with the water."

Burt's eyes widened, though he still didn't look surprised. Carole just looked lost. "Do what with the water?"

Kurt sighed. Very slowly he put the glass down on the table and started circling the rim with his finger.

The water started spinning in the glass, following his finger.

"Wow," Burt exclaimed. Clearly expecting something and seeing it were two different things. "Your grandmother insisted that you'd be able to do that, but I didn't see anything on your scans but the normal human organs."

"I'm sure she'll be very proud," Kurt snipped.

Finn was following the movement of the water very closely, looking very disappointed when Kurt stopped spinning it. "So let me get this straight. You're a space ninja? With super powers?"

"I guess," Kurt stated. He honestly hadn't thought of himself that way before.

"So why aren't you kicking ass at school?" Finn asked in amazement.

"Finn," Burt intoned. "Kurt can't go around drawing attention to himself. He won't show up different unless some very specific tests were done on him at the same time. But it would make people suspicious if Kurt started throwing cars around the parking lot."

Finn looked back at Kurt, flabbergasted. "You can do that!"

"No, Finn," Kurt smiled. "My dad is trying to make a point. All I'm strong enough to do at the moment is make sure my couture doesn't get stained if I get something on it."

Finn considered this for a minute. "That's still really cool," he pointed out.

"Thank you."

"You said something about trials before," Carole piped up. "Is that what this is all about? Kurt's grandmother wants him trained."

Burt was about to respond when he saw Kurt wasn't paying attention anymore. He was looking at the floor. In front of the dish washer. All of hell in his eyes.

Well, it was nice to have Bebe to distract him for a little while. Even if it didn't last. "Kurt?"

Kurt didn't look up, too deep in the memory of the men he had killed on that exact spot. Haunted. "Yeah. Training." Kurt wasn't sure at that moment if he had too much of it, or not enough. What he decided would probably determine what he'd say to Bebe when she got here.

Burt wrapped his son in a hug. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I-" Kurt broke off of what he was saying. Not the time. "Was there anything else we needed to go over?"

"Well…" Burt cleared his throat.

Kurt pulled back from his dad, eyebrow raised. "Why exactly do you look so guilty right now?"

Burt cleared his throat again. "Well I did talk to Carole about your family. Who, not what," he insisted as Kurt felt his blood pressure shoot up. "It was back… back when it happened." Kurt didn't need to be told what 'it' was. "There were some things I needed to get off my chest. About what happened when your grandmother called."

Kurt thought about that for a moment. "Okay." It made him feel really exposed, but he couldn't blame his father for needing Carole to hear that. Needing her to understand.

"Thanks," Burt replied, calming. "But you know, Finn still has no idea that you're not just some random alien dude."

Kurt flushed at that. Coming from an old family was actually more awkward than being an alien. "Could we just, not talk about that. Ever?"

"Probably come up in conversation later," Burt pointed out.

"No it won't."

* * *

Kurt was defiantly putting dishes into the dishwasher when he heard her. There was a knock at the back door, but it clearly wasn't Bebe, as she was calling out from further back in the yard. "Burt-Hummel."

Burt peeked out the kitchen window, frowning. "The woman has indestructible knuckles. You'd think she could knock on the door herself," he grumbled.

Kurt giggled (actually giggled, it had been a while) at the image of Bebe knocking on the door with a thick layer of water protecting her hands. "We could pretend we're not home," Kurt suggested hopefully.

Burt laughed, but he went left the kitchen and headed to the back door anyways. Kurt decided to be a bitch, and sat in the living room waiting for his grandmother to come in. Carole and Finn must have heard Bebe, because they congregated there with him. Kurt had a vague thought that it was going to be awkward for Bebe to be introduced to the woman her daughter's widower was living with. But as much as that was going to be uncomfortable for his dad, he didn't want them to leave, either.

This was his family, now.

They couldn't hear what Bebe was saying from the living room, but it must have been pompous for Burt to interrupt with: "That's great. But do you think you could come in before the neighbors start wondering why the Queen of England is giving a speech in my back yard?"

Bebe calmly strode into the living room, as regally as the Queen Burt had compared her to. Carole and Finn were already standing when she came in, Kurt remained seated. Looking at her overtop his steepled fingers. "Grandmother."

"Grandmother, not bitch," she smiled. "Progress."

"I do have SOME manners."

"Would you like to sit, Bebe?" Burt asked, as he filed in with Bebe's entourage. "I don't think you've got a hope in hell of convincing Kurt to come with you, but convincing YOU of that'll probably take a while."

Bebe sat down across from Kurt. In the middle of the sofa and since no one was willing to sit next to her, everyone else remained standing. She looked from Finn to Carole with some confusion, finally turning her attention to Finn. "You are Finn, I recall."

Finn paled and nodded. Burt stepped in between them and nodded as well. "This is Carole," he said as he gestured to his girlfriend. "She's Finn's mother."

"Hello," Carole managed. "I'm sorry I'm not being more hospitable. The fact that you threatened my son this afternoon is making it a little awkward."

"Fully understand," Bebe insisted. "Were it my family, I would feel same. Sadly, my grandson is very angry and very stubborn."

"He gets that as much from you as he does from me," Burt pointed out.

Bebe nodded, gesturing to the same four men she'd had that afternoon. "My collection. Quipus, water as I. Coir, air. Aramid, solid. And Prince Jute, fire, though prince as grandson of Council leader. Not Fire Prince."

Carole and Finn both started at that. "Whoa," Finn exclaimed.

Prince Jute, the youngest of the four men, waved the comment off. "It's a courtesy title, really. All I had to do to earn it was to prove I'm not completely useless." Oddly, his English seemed better than Bebe's.

"So you can do the same things with fire that Kurt can do with water?" Finn asked.

"Yes," Jute told him. "Our planet is harsh. Your people may look like ours, but the people on our world who weren't able to draw water from the air on the day side, or warm themselves on the night side died millions of years ago."

"Yeah, anyone here who can do that has probably never needed to practice it either," Finn noted.

Bebe smiled at that. "[Little pogol], your boyfriend is handling this very well. Very intelligent questions."

"I think that's the first time anyone's ever called Finn-" Kurt broke off, belatedly realizing what Bebe had just said. His face was no doubt redder than his Cheerios uniform. "Oh, no. Really. Finn's straight. We're not- He's not my boyfriend." He couldn't figure out where she'd gotten that idea.

Until Bebe looked back at Carole. "Apologies. But then what is it you do here?" Bebe didn't seem very pleased.

Oh, crap. Burt hadn't actually gotten to mention that part.

Burt calmly stood between Bebe and Carole. "Actually, Carole is here with me. We've been dating for a few months now."

Bebe's eyes narrowed. "[Dating]," she repeated, slipping back into the Sateen common language.

"[Yeah]," Burt told her, his Sateen much better than her English. "[I know you probably don't want to think about that, but Kasha's accident was eight years ago. Kurt and I agreed it was time for me to move on.]."

"[Move on]." Kurt couldn't figure out why his grandmother suddenly seemed incapable of her own speech. While it was hard to imagine Burt getting over his mother, Bebe seemed to be on the verge of a serious overreaction.

"[I cannot believe you]!" Bebe exclaimed. "[I thought you cold before, Burt-Hummel, but this]?"

"Me!" Burt yelped. "[Look who's calling who cold. After completely cutting Kurt out of your life]."

"[Clearly a mistake, given how you've raised him]!"

"[Excuse me!]" Kurt yelled as he jumped up.

Kurt, Bebe, and Burt shouted for several minutes, venting a decade of grievances. Kurt was vaguely aware of how uncomfortable the others in the room were. Finn and Carole had no idea what was going on, not that understanding was making things more pleasant for Bebe's Honor Guard. But he was just so angry that he couldn't stop. He even continued as Bebe switched to her native water tongue and Burt had to drop out of the conversation.

But suddenly Kurt went pale and stopped yelling altogether. "What? What did you just say?"

"I said your father should have more respect for your mother, especially with her being in death-"

"No!" Kurt exclaimed. "You didn't say [death]. You said [coma]. Those are two completely different words."

Bebe stopped her rant as cleanly as if she'd been slapped in the face. "What?"

It was suddenly deathly quiet in the house. Jute mouthed an expletive. Burt didn't seem to be able to say anything at all.

"No," Bebe gasped. "Can't have said that."

"Oh my god," Carole breathed.

Kurt was shaking, but he wasn't quite able to bring himself to believe the possibility just yet. He had to know. "Let's do this nice and simple. Yes or no. Is- Is my mom still alive?"

Bebe looked horrified, and this time it was she who was unable to speak. It was Jute, almost as horrified, who finally answered, "Of course she's alive."

(to be continued)

Author's note: I've used both the ten year and eight year figures for Kasha's accident, and deliberately. Sateen's year is a little shorter than Earth's (and is an agricultural year, not a solar year, as it's solar year is EXTREMELY short), so it's been ten Sateen years since the incident, while only eight Earth years. Burt of course, says eight. But despite the fact that he claims to be completely done with his other people, Kurt still uses the Sateen ten.

I've never begged for reviews before, but I'm a little nervous over how the Sci-Fi is going over so I'm making an exception. I will literally die if no one reviews.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you so much for all your reviews. I've been walking a fine line between serious drama and cartoon superpowers, and I'm glad to see that I'm not screwing it up. Bebe is supposed to be a flawed but in the end good person, and hopefully that's coming across. It doesn't help that I don't really like her myself.

No cliffhanger this time, it's all fallout.

The Star Prince - part 3

The day she called, Burt Hummel had been at home, working on his own truck for a change.

Kasha had been gone for a couple of weeks, back home for the annual dueling tournament. She went home fairly frequently considering how far away it was, though Burt didn't know how much distance mattered when you had a gizmo that could instantly take you there. But for once she was alone. Burt wasn't going, and after a brief argument he'd convinced her that Kurt didn't need to go, either. Burt getting his way had been another 'for once'. Usually, if he wasn't caving in to his wife, he was caving in to his too-adorable son.

Burt wasn't happy about this, though. Granted, he told Kasha when they got married that they were going to make sure their child or children knew about, and were proud of their heritage. But the fighting had made him uncomfortable, and he didn't think that Kurt yet understood what this military culture all meant. Burt had asked Kasha to just not go, but her appearance was just about mandatory. Apparently the president of Sateen had personally asked Kasha to participate, in honor of some Water anniversary or other.

The phone was ringing. He started wiping the oil off of his hands, though he knew that most everyone would hang up long before he got there. But the phone kept ringing, which presumably meant Kasha. She'd somehow managed to get their phone hooked up to the general communications net on Sateen, and her people were the only ones Burt knew of that were willing to let the phone ring thirty times to make sure they got through.

Of course gizmo notwithstanding, it was still a long way to come if no one picked up, so this was probably their best option. "That you, Kasha?"

"Burt-Hummel. Speak to you I need."

Burt sighed. Hearing Kasha's proud, sophisticated mother struggling to form her words in English always made him want to switch to Sateen standard. The only reason he didn't was because he liked that she at least tried. "Bebe. I wasn't expecting to hear from you. Is everything okay?" Not that he even considered that it might not be. Kasha was only in a mock combat situation, and she was anything but rusty. No, Bebe was likely calling to make another attempt at convincing him to bring Kurt to Sateen.

Except Bebe didn't sound like her usual self. She sounded… rattled. "Need you and Kurtling here now," she insisted gravely.

"Bebe, I've been over this already with Kasha," Burt told her. "I don't think Kurt needs to see his mom beating on someone, not to mention having someone hitting her, too."

"No longer an issue. There…. Accident there has been, on the field."

Burt's blood chilled so fast that under normal circumstances he'd have wondered if Bebe had done it over the phone. "Oh my god. How serious is it? Kurt's at school but I can get him in about-"

"You have one Earth hour till my people get there. Be ready."

"Wait!" Burt exclaimed. "You didn't even tell me how Kasha is." Damned impatient-

"She is in death," Bebe told him, stunningly matter of fact. "One of the new ones under her shield got. His shield in the back of her head. Combat called off on-"

"Hold on!" This couldn't be happening. He was dreaming. He hit his head on the bumper and- There was no way Bebe was just standing there calmly going over the- Over the-

Play by play. Burt threw up on the floor.

Bebe sighed. "Waiting, as asked. Time I do not have. Much to do have I."

Burt threw his focus back onto the phone in his hand, suddenly furious. "That's all you have to say?"

"Time-"

"I don't give a damn about your fucking 'time'! You phone me, after I BEGGED Kasha not to fight for you, and you act like it's some kind of inconvenience."

"Things to be done," Bebe pointed out. She then sighed again. "Forget. Not expecting you to understand our ways."

"I don't give a damn about your ways, either. And you can add your being a fucking ICE BITCH, to the things that I don't understand."

She hung up. She'd practically killed his wife and she just hung up on him.

Burt had had to clean up his mess and then he'd had to pick up Kurt. That alone took several hours to deal with, so it wasn't a surprise that no one was at the house when he got back. He didn't care. Bebe would call back. It's not like she'd let him miss the funeral, after all.

* * *

Kurt had been standing up, arguing with his grandmother, but the revelation that his mother was still alive had cut the power to his legs and he collapsed back onto the chair. He laughed, darkly. "I can't believe this. I've been mourning my mother for ten years… Because of a mistranslation?" He laughed again. It made everyone in the room wince.

"Oh my god, Kurt." Burt finally seemed to be capable of speech again. He hurried over to the chair, collapsing on his knees in horror and guilt. "God, Kurt I'm so sorry. I should have called her back. I would've-" Burt was crying, and Kurt couldn't handle that.

"I told you not to call her," Kurt reminded. Kurt's eyes were dead, and he was seriously tempted to slip into some sort of fugue state. "_**I**_ told you not to call her."

"I'm your father," Burt insisted. "It's my job to take care of you. Having a tantrum over your grandmother was not doing that. I should have tried harder-" Burt choked on a sob, hanging his head and repeating "I'm sorry" over and over.

Bebe on the other hand, was too shamed to even look at Kurt. It was a long moment of near silence before Jute knelt in front of Bebe. "[Lifeblood, it's a new day on Sateen. Perhaps Kurt and his father could see her now, and we can deal with the ramifications later.]"

Bebe wiped her eyes with a grateful look to Jute. "[Thank you, you're right.] Grand- Kurt, come now. Too long since you've seen your mother. All else can wait." She knelt next to Burt, looking surprisingly humble. "Please?"

Kurt looked at her for a long moment. He wanted to tell her to go to hell, though clearly she'd probably mistake the damn word for couch or something. He shook off that unkind thought, though. This wasn't about her. This was about his….

His mom. Kurt's nod was eager, even if the look on his face was still painful to see.

Finn let out a relieved breath, not having realized that this was far from over. "Kurt. Dude, this is great. I can't believe you're going to actually see your mom. Mom? Can I go with-"

One look at Carole though, and Finn understood. Everyone was looking at her now, and Kurt was sure he'd just breathed in the tension Finn had just exhaled. The look on Carole's face was probably just as bad as the one that was on his own. "Carole," Kurt gasped.

"I- I should probably get going," Carole babbled. "Finn, come on."

"Where are we going?" Finn asked confused. "We live here."

"I don't know. My- I'm sure one of my friends will put us up for the night."

Bebe pulled herself to her feet. "Late it is. Stay."

The guy that Kurt fought, who Bebe had introduced as Quipus, had apparently been following the conversation a little, as he intruded with: "[That may not be suitable, ma'am.]"

Bebe turned to him, distressed but with firm displeasure. "[Sacred waters, Quipus! What does it matter now?]"

"[It doesn't,]" Jute agreed. "Let's get Kurt to the Capital Medical Facility to see his mother. What happens next can wait until after everyone has had a chance for this to sink in."

"No, no I can't," Carole insisted. Or tried to, it was hard to be firm when your hands and voice were shaking. "It was one thing before…. But this is still her house, and I can't-"

Finn was shocked. "Mom. We can't go now."

"Carole, please." Burt almost sounded normal, but he was still on the floor. Looking like a kicked puppy, it seemed almost cruel to him to do this now.

Of course, Carole didn't have the luxury to not deal with this now. "No, Burt. If you don't mind having Finn here, I'm sure he'd appreciate it. But I have to go." And go she did, not even grabbing a coat on the way out.

"Ka- Carole, wait." Burt was galvanized as he watched Carole walk out. Up in a flash, he was right out the door after her.

Carole turned back to him just as she reached her car. "Burt, can we not do this right now? I really- I really can't take it right now."

"I know," Burt assured her. "Just come back inside. We can-"

"We can what?" Carole interrupted. "Go back in her house? Sleep it off in- Oh my god," she whimpered. "That was the bed she slept in. I slept in her bed. I had sex with her husband in her bed."

"No! Carole, I got rid of our bed. I couldn't stand to look at it. I swear this is a different bed!"

"How does that make this any better?" Carole sobbed.

"I don't know! But I love you."

"You loved her first. You had a child with her. You can't tell me that you don't still love her."

"I- Damnit, Carole. This has been a really rough day, and I'm not really up to dealing with it. Please don't do this. Don't hit the self destruct button until I can wrap my head around all of this."

Carole gently brushed her hand against Burt's face. Wiping his tears even as her own flowed freely. "I love you, Burt Hummel. You've been through so much, and there's almost nothing I wouldn't do to spare you more pain."

Burt looked so hopeful just then. But Carole had to crush it. "I can't go back inside. As much as I want to, I just can't do it. I'm sorry."

"Carole…."

She got in her car and left.

Burt sat down in the front step. His head bowed. Tears splashing down on the sidewalk.

Kurt came outside and sat next to him. Didn't say a word, just put an arm around Burt's shoulders.

Finn came out onto the step. Utterly lost, the way he'd been the night of the home invasion. "Where's my mom?"

Burt didn't know what to say.

* * *

The premier hospital in Sateen's premier city looked like every other hospital Kurt had ever seen. He was beginning to wonder if architects willing to produce these sterile monstrosities was just one of those things a culture had to have in order to be space-faring.

Of course, this hospital did have one unusual feature: a former Chief of Staff who was now the President of Sateen's ruling council. President Aramid was suitably pleased that Kurt had come home, suitably shocked at the mix-up, and currently suitably sympathetic about not letting Kurt in. "[Bebe, I'm so sorry. If I'd known what the situation was, I'd have recommended they cancel Kasha's appointment for today.]"

Burt, who had come with his son (a shaken Finn had elected to stay home), was confused. "[I don't understand. How long is this appointment supposed to take?]"

"[Several hours, I'm afraid,]" Aramid told him. "[Plus the rest of the day in hyperbaric suspension.]"

Bebe nodded. "[The repairs to her brain stem are very intricate. Greater than normal stasis will allow. Ari, are you certain they can't look in on the procedure? I can guarantee they will stay out of the way and not transmit infection.]"

"[I know you can, and perhaps that will do for the husband,]" the President allowed. "[But Kurt-Hummel? Bebe, in this stage of her recovery, she wakes from time to time whenever we remove her from stasis.]"

"[She's awake?]" Both Burt and Kurt exclaimed. Bebe had told them that she had been in a medically induced coma since the accident. She hadn't mentioned this.

"[For very short periods,]" Bebe told them.

"[These sessions are very delicate already,]" Aramid reminded her. "[If confronted with her nearly adult son….]"

"[Surely a couple of minutes before they start won't hurt,]" Burt pleaded. "[It's been so long.]"

"[They've already started. I'm sorry Burt-Hummel, it is just too late.]"

"[Is there anything that can be done to hurry the suspension afterwards?]" Bebe asked.

Aramid considered this. "[I think that the doctors were planning on doing eight relays today. I'm sure if they only did four it would-]"

"[No!]" Kurt yelped, startling the others a little. He exhaled, trying to be a grown up about this. "[That won't be necessary. I don't want to do anything to slow her recovery. She's been gone too long already.]"

Bebe didn't seem assured by this, but the President smiled. "[A very mature attitude. Burt-Hummel, if you and Bebe would like to follow me?]"

Burt looked at his son anxious, but Kurt nodded insistent. "[Tell me what she looks like, okay?]" It was so plaintive, Kurt thought he saw tears as his father and grandmother walked off. Or maybe they were just his own.

Kurt slid down the non-descript wall, discouraged and completely exhausted. He ignored the sound of footsteps until they stopped right in front of him. It was Prince Jute looking down at him, looking like a worried angel. Kurt started to stand up.

Jute chuckled softly. "Please don't." He slid down the wall to join Kurt. "I'm just the grandson of a politician. By the time the trials are over this year, you'll outrank me."

Kurt wasn't sure if he'd frowned bemused or smiled sadly. "That's a couple of very big assumptions you're making. That I'll first enter, and then perform well at trials."

"You'll do fine," Jute assured him. "I saw you today. You're rusty, but that style of yours is unique. It'll make up for a lot of missed lessons."

That time Kurt was sure he'd smiled. "My mom taught me that before they knew if I was going to be able to keep up with the traditional form. So it's not exactly unique."

Jute nodded. "But that's not what keeping you from competing, is it. Does it have something to do with what happened to you a while back?"

Kurt looked up in shock. "What do you know about that?"

"Not much," Jute admitted. "Your grandmother wasn't sure if you still lived where you do. So she asked my grandfather to send some people to look in on you."

Kurt sighed, too tired to be angry. "Your grandfather is a real busybody."

Jute laughed. "He really is." But then Jute stopped laughing, looking to Kurt with that worry again. "I didn't hear what happened, but I was here when your grandmother came for the report. She left crying."

Which made Kurt feel really bad, because he'd debated the idea that she'd orchestrated the home invasion to drive him back into her grasp. "Some guys broke into our house. I was home alone." Kurt didn't know why he was telling a complete stranger this.

Actually he did, he wanted some advice from someone not involved in this whole mess. "I killed them, and now I'm starting to wonder if I'd been better trained- If I hadn't given up on my grandmother, if they'd still be dead."

Jute considered this. "There's no way to be sure, of course. Stuff happens. I know how easily things can get out of control."

Kurt was about to snap that Jute had no idea, but Jute pulled out his dueling weapon. And started fiddling with a small strip of cloth tied to one of the hand grips.

A strip of cloth that seemed to be covered in dried blood. Kurt held his tongue as Jute turned back to him. "I get that you don't like your grandmother. I understand why. But if you don't want that to happen again, you'll need as many options as you can get. The training will give you that. And no one is better qualified to teach you than the Water Standard Bearer."

"My grandmother," Kurt sighed. He knew what he had to do now, he supposed. And he found himself wanting to change the subject. "So how is it that you know English so well?"

Jute blushed at that. "I'll tell you on the condition that you don't read too much into it. You know our people have to earn what they get."

"Oh I'm already loving the sound of this," Kurt quipped. Though at least it wasn't talking about his grandmother or the blood on his hands.

"I don't know if you know this, but you and I are the only two princes in our generation who are attracted to men," Jute stated.

"I didn't know that." And Kurt didn't really care. His mother had frequently told him as a child that he would someday marry someone who earned his place in Kurt's life. Not necessarily a prince.

But Jute seemed to agree. "Not that it really matters. We're both free to love whomever deserves us." He fingered the cloth on his dueling weapon a moment longer before putting it away. "My grandfather only asked that I accompany your grandmother and see what I thought of you. It wasn't difficult, I have a knack for languages."

So this was a scouting mission for Jute as well. Kurt wasn't sure how to feel about that. It was intrusive, but it wasn't like this was a prearranged marriage. And Jute was nice, polite, and very handsome.

Stop it, Kurt. You don't even know what he's decided. He may think you're too high maintenance after the show you gave him last night. "So what do you think of me?" he asked shyly.

Jute smiled again. "You're very proud, though I'd say you have every reason to be. You're clearly well grounded and educated. You think fast on your feet, and you're very flexible. Both mentally and physically," he added with a wink.

"Thank you," Kurt replied, relieved.

"You're also very cute," Jute told him. "And if you weren't quite so… Earthen, and I wasn't sure you'd find it forward I'd be offering the use of my bed for a few hours. As a friend and prospect," he clarified. "One doesn't treat an heir to the Water Standard like a piece of meat."

Kurt was surely blushing now. He knew that Sateen was more open about sex than they were in the States. But he was a child the last time he was here, and it was much different hearing something than just overhearing something.

Jute pulled himself to his feet. "But since I don't wish to offend, I should get going." He offered Kurt another one of those dazzling smiles. "My grandfather's business often brings me to the Thunder Palace. I hope to see you there."

Kurt nodded. "Thanks Jute." He agreed that it would be really presumptuous of Jute to think Kurt would just jump into bed with him. But as Jute walked away, Kurt couldn't help but feel lonely and disappointed.

(to be continued)

What does everyone think of a Kurt/Jute pairing? I had originally hoped for him to be a sympathetic obstacle for Kurt and his show boyfriend, but I have no idea at this point who that's supposed to even be. So I thought maybe I should throw all in on them being together, given that they're so very Kute together.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you everyone, for another round of great reviews. I'm especially glad that people like Jute. I'm pretty good at writing ordinary OCs but generally when they're supposed to be popular, people end up not liking them. Sadly, there's no Jute in this chapter, but Finn does finally find out just how important Kurt's family is.

The Star Prince - part four

Despite how it had seemed at the time, Burt was now convinced that Kurt was better off not seeing his mother like this.

He'd assumed that the 'stasis' that Bebe described was some kind of freezer, like what you saw in the Aliens movies. While that was partially true, the reason it worked was that Kasha's body had been injected with a preservative to prevent cell damage. It left her skin dull and waxy looking and reminded Burt far too much of that Exhibition he and Kurt had gone to in Cleveland displaying real human bodies. "I thought- I was expecting her to look more… alive." And Bebe had had to watch Kasha get… fossilized like this. No wonder she'd been so distracted.

"[I know]," Bebe muttered. The water barrier she'd surrounded them with was too thin to see, but she'd assured him that it was there and functioning. "[I remember when she was a baby, how soft her skin was.]"

"[So was Kurt's. Of course, as finicky as he is about his skin care, it probably still is.]" Bebe chuckled a bit at that. "[Bebe, I- I'm sorry I yelled at you before.]"

Kurt's grandmother nodded, still looking surprisingly vulnerable. "[As am I.]"

"[Why did you do it?]" Burt asked, trying not to sound the least accusatory. "[I can see you wanting to shut me out, but Kurt?]"

Bebe turned to look at him, a grim smile on her face. "[I have never wanted to shut you out,]" she assured him. "[Never. I may not understand you Burt, but I do care for you.]

Now a frown overcame her smile, and she lowered her head. "[Kurt was actually the reason I did it,]" she admitted. "[I was more than willing to fight you over this, but I knew you wouldn't refuse to come if Kurt hadn't insisted. The idea of him rejecting his mother, like she was now… I didn't understand it, and I took the coward's way out.]"

"[It was an accident,]" Burt reminded her. "[What happened to her, AND what happened with us.]"

"[Are you sorry you know? Are you sorry I came for Kurt and the trials?]"

"No," Burt stated firmly, briefly slipping back into English. "[No. Kurt's gone on long enough without his mother. Besides,]" he added with a grimace, "[if you hadn't come, when Kasha was better, she might have come home to that. That'd be a lot worse.]"

"Burt?" Kasha was awake.

Oh my god. It was one thing, in the living room. In theory. But she was really awake. God, this was REAL.

Her eyes opened and she looked weakly around the room. "Burt, are you there?"

Burt rushed forward, only stopping when he hit Bebe's shield (and it was an indication of how powerful his mother-in-law was that it didn't even feel wet). "Kasha? I'm here, Princess." The long unused nickname slid off his tongue easily as breathing.

Or maybe easy like something else, because Burt didn't feel like he WAS breathing.

"Burt? What happened?" Kasha sounded upset, but she seemed unable to move. Either due to the operation or general exhaustion. But she didn't seem concerned by that, at least. The doctors hadn't stopped their work either, hadn't even paused. So presumably they weren't at all worried about this.

"You don't remember?" Burt asked. "There was an accident at the arena. You were hurt."

"Her short term memory hasn't been repaired yet," Bebe murmured, just out of Kasha's hearing. "It's explained to her, but the next she wakes, she's forgotten."

Which was an even better reason for Kurt not to be here. Burt couldn't imagine having to explain who he was to her over and over again. And she wasn't HIS mother. "It's okay, though. Your mom's got all the best doctors working on you. You're going to be fine."

"Get… Get me some good doctors," Kasha told him with a tired smile. "My mom's 'best doctors'… are all a hundred and fifty years old."

Burt and Bebe both laughed, though Burt could hear Bebe choke back a sob. "Will do."

"Where? Where's Kurt?"

Burt had been briefed on what to say about that. "It's late Kasha. We'll bring him in soon." And it's not like it was a lie; it was late on Earth, and he was definitely bringing Kurt in later.

She just wouldn't be 'there' to see him.

* * *

Finn was sleeping in his and Kurt's room when they came back. Burt had insisted that he'd build an addition when Carole and Finn moved back in, but after everything that had happened the last time Finn had said no. He was determined that he was going to room with Kurt, and be comfortable doing it. The only change to the Dior grey room was the Dior grey partition dividing their spaces. Surprisingly, it was for Kurt's sake, as he'd found out in short order that he didn't want to look at the floor on Finn's half of the room.

Finn was glad that he'd stayed here last night. Even though Kurt hadn't slept there, having Kurt's things just on the other side of the room was comforting. Like their screwed up little family hadn't just been completely blown to hell.

Kurt and Bebe came down the stairs just before noon. They weren't making any effort to be quiet, no doubt assuming that Finn would have gotten up at his usual time of ten o'clock. But Finn hadn't been able to relax at first, so he was late to sleep. He was actually surprised that Kurt was already up and about.

Although given what had happened, maybe Kurt just couldn't sleep at all. "When am I going to be able to see my mom?" Kurt asked. As much as Finn sympathized with Kurt's grandmother, he was relieved to hear that Kurt's voice was once again superior and bitchy.

"Not until middle of noon," Bebe told him, seeming to completely ignore Kurt's tone. "Here time. No visitors that early, but Aramid says to ignore."

Kurt nodded, though of course Finn couldn't see it. "I appreciate that."

Finn was sure that he hadn't moved. Maybe he blinked, but he definitely hadn't made any noise. So he was startled when he heard Bebe call out, "Finn?"

Finn poked his nose up over the partition. "How did you know I was here?"

"Made of water, you are," Bebe reminded him. That didn't really help.

Kurt must have seen confusion on Finn's face, because he added: "My grandmother can sense water, Finn. If you moved your head, or even blinked, she'd have noticed."

"Wow. Can you do that?"

Kurt answered no, just as Bebe said yes. Finn, completely flummoxed, replied, "Oh… thanks."

Kurt and Bebe both started laughing. Bebe recovered first, noting, "Simplest of water training. Even if nothing else, Kurtling, have that yes."

"Well, yeah," Finn exclaimed. "He can already to this thing with a glass where the water all-"

"Finn!" Kurt snapped, irritated.

But it was too late; Bebe had already turned to Kurt appraisingly. "Indeed. Useful that."

"Can we just get on with this?" Kurt asked, all trace of his former good humor gone.

Bebe sighed, disappointment clear even to Finn. "Yes. Be prepared." She pulled her dueling weapon out of a back sheath that Finn couldn't even see a second ago. Kurt likewise drew the weapon he'd received yesterday.

"You're going to fight here?" Finn asked, intrigued. "I mean, I guess it's not like you can fight in the yard."

Kurt took a swing at his grandmother, who blocked easily. "No," he replied.

Bebe took Kurt through a fairly straightforward strike-block pattern. And despite English being more challenging than Sateen standard noted, "Better learn in cramped inside and fight outside, than reverse."

Watching Kurt and Bebe spar was the most awesome thing that Finn had ever seen, now that he got that it was only training. After a few minutes, he couldn't help exclaim, "Could you teach me?"

Kurt and Bebe broke off to look at him, both surprised. "Really?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah," Finn insisted. "It looks cool. And I can help. You need to train Kurt really fast for this trial thing. I can practice with him whenever you need a rest."

Kurt and Bebe shared a look that said he'd said something stupid again, and it was really amusing them. "Joking?" Bebe asked with a smile. Kurt shook his head.

"Finn, my grandmother could kick your ass barehanded," Kurt informed him. "You and Puck together, even. She's not going to get tired."

"Whoa." Still, it looked really cool. "I promise I'll work as hard as I can. Teach me? Please?"

Kurt looked at Bebe, who was considering this. Finally she shook her head. Finn was disappointed until she said. "Not I. Kurt-Hummel. Better idea of what he forgot it will show." Finn cheered. "Have to find another [dueling weapon], I will."

"Actually…." Kurt blushed as both Finn and Bebe looked to him. "If Finn wants to do this, he can have this one."

Kurt handed off the weapon he was holding and went over to his hope chest. That weird, elegant box that seemed to have no lock but that he and Puck had never been able to get into. Bebe had been momentarily confused, but when Kurt knelt down in front of the box, Finn heard Bebe gasp.

Kurt ran his hand over the lid of the chest, opening it with no difficulty now. Inside was a shelf that divided the top six inches of the box from the rest of it. Kurt's extensive tiara collection took up the entire space, everything from girly girl stuff to some that looked kind of bad ass.

But Kurt lifted up on the shelf, that raised and parted, allowing Kurt access to the bottom (and Finn would have bet money that the shelf wouldn't have budged an inch if HE'D tried to move it).

Bebe gasped again as Kurt pulled out another dueling weapon. He held it up, looking at it with a sad smile on his face. "It was my grandfather's," Kurt explained to Finn. "Grand- Grandmother gave it to me when he died."

Bebe started at that. "Tell you that I did?"

Kurt looked at her, confused. "No, but it was after his funeral. I assumed-"

"Apologies, again," though from Bebe's expression this was a seriously smaller screw-up. "This is your grandfather's," she told Kurt, gesturing to her own weapon. "Couldn't bear give up this last of him."

Kurt looked confused for a moment longer, before turning back to his weapon, eyes wide. "You mean- This is- [Sacred Waters!]"

"What? What?" Finn asked.

Bebe turned to Kurt, expectantly. Either she felt he needed to explain, or she didn't feel comfortable enough in her English to respond. Kurt eventually stated, "This is- It's the first [dueling weapon] of our family. Tyvek, the first Water Standard Bearer of our family forged this out of molten lava the same year he earned the Water Standard. It's over six thousand years old."

"Six thousand and ten, grandson," Bebe noted. It was apparently the wrong thing to say, though. The reminder of what had happened at the six thousandth anniversary made Kurt clench his weapon. He had to force himself to calm down.

"Yes," Kurt replied harshly.

Fortunately, Finn had realized something that would redirect the conversation. "But- But if your family's had that Standard thing for that long…. Are you a prince or something?"

Kurt sighed, his anger draining away as his face reddened. Finn could be a little dense from time to time, but he was hardly stupid. Cheating off of Brittany, notwithstanding. "Or something."

"Must do well at trials," Bebe explained. "Then prince."

That stipulation didn't really make Finn any less stunned. He paced back and forth, pulling nervously at his hair. "Crap. Kurt, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wrecked your bag, I'm sorry I yelled at you- Fuck, I'm pretty much sorry about everything I've done since the moment my mom got pregnant with me."

Kurt had to smile at that sweet declaration. "You're forgiven. Jute found someone who could fix my bag, and it's between you and your mother if you gave her morning sickness." Though if there weren't Solid people who could literally reform cloth fibers, that might have been another story.

"Jeez," Finn gaped. "Prince-Kurt-Hummel. And now you guys can control lava?"

"Anything wet," Bebe agreed with a nod.

"Our Standard isn't H-2-O water. The four states of existence are solid, liquid, gas, and energy," Kurt clarified. There was also the flip side that he couldn't control water if it was completely frozen or completely gaseous either, but Finn didn't need a science lesson right now. "And don't call me Prince-Kurt-Hummel. Ever."

"But all you have to do is prove yourself, and bang!" Finn persisted.

"Formality," Bebe added, though she did so gently. "Already proved yourself here on Earth."

Finn wasn't sure what she meant, but Kurt did. "Yeah, Jute told me you heard about that," he noted, his tone flat and tired.

Bebe didn't sound like she was any the more ready to talk about it than Kurt was. "Shouldn't have stayed away. Unprepared you were. Proving you, but barbaric. Sorry, Kurt-Hummel."

Kurt winced at that. It kind of hurt to hear his proud, elegant grandmother brought so low and apologetic. Both he and Finn could see how much she regretted what she'd done. And in the end, Kurt still felt like what happened was as much his own fault as anyone else's. So Kurt tried to let it go. At least for a couple of hours. He raised his dueling weapon and faced his grandmother again.

Tried to put all of his misgivings away. Forget what had happened the last time he'd taken up arms in this house.

The training will give you options.

"Come on, old woman," Kurt tried to tease, though it sounded borderline offensive. "Let's see what you've got."

(to be continued)


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks again for the great reviews. SeaCat03, as much as I dislike how weak Finn is on the show, I started writing this in the summer when I didn't know that Finn was going to backslide after the shower curtain dress incident. So he's much more brotherly in this fic, as you'll see in this chapter.

The Star Prince - part 5

Burt had been calling (unsuccessfully) for the past two days, so it wasn't a surprise for Carole to hear her friend Janice's doorbell ring. The voice she heard however, when Janice answered the door, was…. "Kurt?"

Kurt strode past Janice into the living room without an invitation to come in, an attitude that made so much more sense since she knew who his grandmother was. "You haven't returned my dad's calls, and you barely text Finn," Kurt noted, sounding (surprisingly, to her) very put out.

"You know, your grandmother is becoming a bad influence on you." Carole was actually happy to see Kurt, but she wasn't about to tolerate rudeness.

Kurt blushed, but carried on. Carole let him, knowing full well that he'd apologize to Janice later. "I know the last couple of days have been difficult for you. But my dad has a hard decision he has to make, and he can't do it if you unilaterally decide to take yourself out of the running."

"I thought you'd both be relieved," Carole told him, surprised that this didn't seem to be the case.

"You thought we'd be relieved that my dad wouldn't get a say in who he's married to?" Kurt scoffed, his voice rough with emotion. "That my dad might not love my mom anymore, but go back to her anyways?"

Carole winced at that. "Kurt, your dad loves your mom, I know that. I- I thought you'd be happy that I was out of the way. If your dad picked me-"

"I told him, I'd understand." Kurt's voice was thick with tears, and Carole already knew from experience that that look was Kurt feeling like a traitor. There was a moment of stunned silence (and Janice could well have been on Sateen for how quiet she was) before Kurt continued. "He LOVES you. And I- LOVE you. And I think you know me well enough to know how hard it is for me to say that.

"Since my Mom's accident, I've said that to exactly one other person. I never even said that to Finn, and at one point it was actually true." And it was probably true again, though in a different way. But Kurt still hadn't said it, and probably never would.

"What do you want me to do?" Carole asked, trying to make herself sound helpful and not exasperated. She was feeling both right now.

Kurt paused, trying to rebury his turbulent emotions. "Finn wants to see where my family is from, and my Grandmother said he could. You're welcome to come if you want. But if you don't feel like you can, can you at least come home. We don't need anyone to watch the house; Grandmother has already seen to that," Kurt stated enigmatically. "But you still live there, and I don't want you to forget that."

Carole considered that. "I don't think I can handle maybe seeing your Mom. But I'll come back to the house." Kurt smiled, a little sadly, at that. "While you're gone, anyways. I can't make any promises about when you get back."

Kurt nodded, very formally. "Fair enough." He flipped open a phone that looked SOMETHING like what his phone did, but somehow not quite the same. Especially since Kurt didn't seem to have dialed. "She said yes."

The bell rang again, and when Janice answered it again, she let in Mercedes, Rachel, Puck, and Finn, who gave his Mom a big hug. "Welcome back."

"Hello, Mrs. Hudson," Rachel smiled. "Kurt figured that since Mercedes and I brought you your stuff here, we deserved the option to bring it back."

Puck just seemed stunned. "I still don't get how Kurt ended up being more badass than me."

Carole briefly wondered what Kurt had told them, but Mercedes just smiled and teased, "Puck, Kurt's always been more badass than you."

* * *

As Kurt watched an awe-struck Finn take in the interior of the Thunder Palace, he was regretting telling the rest of Glee Club only that he was going away for the summer to visit his grandmother. If no one else, he'd like to tell Mercedes so that she could be filled with the same wonder that Finn was.

Kurt had forgotten how beautiful the Palace was, or maybe he'd just not let himself remember. When the Water Clans first made their embassy in what became the Capital of Sateen (Market had originally been a trading hub, hence the name), they had reveled in the easy water, and made the Water District a lavish place with the Thunder Palace as its centerpiece. Dior grey sandstone walls, gigantic tempered windows, and ponds EVERYWHERE there was room. It looked like an indoor oasis, which in essence was exactly what it was.

"Wow," Finn gaped. "Where is that noise coming from?"

Kurt was about to make an acidic retort at the comment, until he reminded himself that they'd jumped here directly from the Hummel/Hudson living room. Finn hadn't seen the outside of the Palace to see the source of that low rumble that was its namesake.

Bebe must have known the same thing, as she smiled, "Kurtling, why don't you take Finn out to see the outside of the Palace."

Kurt nodded, leading the way out of his grandmother's office. "Come with me, Finn. Just don't forget that this glass is far superior to what we have on Earth. You don't have to worry about it breaking.

Finn clearly didn't understand why Kurt had said that, until they came to the Window Gallery and saw that it was ALL windows, including the floor. "Holy fuck!" he exclaimed, grabbing the doorway tightly.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Finn Hudson, what did I just tell you about this being safe? The last war we had on Sateen, this Gallery took a direct missile hit. It didn't even crack."

"When was that?" Finn asked, not looking completely convinced.

"Uh- Last week?" Kurt joked. Finn turned green, and Kurt sighed. "It was almost five hundred years ago," Kurt told him. "It's perfectly safe. Really. And this is the best part of the Palace."

Finn swallowed hard (Kurt refused to think about the likelihood that vomit had gone back down with it), and took a few whisper light steps out into the gallery. He'd made it only a few feet before he stopped, attention completely absorbed at the space under his feet. "Oh my god."

Kurt heard admiration, rather than fear in Finn's voice. He'd anticipated that.

The Thunder Palace had been built into a cliff over looking the city, as was the style for the underground cities in his grandmother's dominions. The cliff was horseshoe shaped, and the builders had diverted several small streams to form what was the highest waterfall on Sateen. The Window Gallery was build right across it, between the two sides of the Palace. The roar of the falls was much louder than it was in the rest of the Palace, but still sealed out enough to allow for conversation.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Kurt suspected there was a hint of awe, even in his own voice.

Finn couldn't speak at first. "This- I mean, damn. I hoped I'd get out of Lima someday and see some stuff, but- Damn."

"That about sums it up." Kurt and Finn looked up to see Prince Jute in the door, smiling at them.

"Jute!" Kurt exclaiming, mentally chastising himself for the blush he could feel on his cheeks. "I know you said you came here often, but I didn't think I'd see you this quickly."

"Actually, I'm here for him," Jute commented, gesturing to Finn before addressing him personally. "When my Grandfather found out you'd be coming, I offered to help Kurt show you around. Provide a second translator for you."

"Thanks," Finn told him gratefully. "I'm picking up a lot already, but I'm no way ready to talk to someone."

"Oh really?" Jute asked interested. "You have a way with languages, too?"

"No," Kurt replied, stepping between them with confused feelings of jealousy. "I knew Sateen standard was pared down to make it easier for everyone to learn. But Finn's picked up more in two days than he's learned in ten YEARS of Spanish."

Jute smiled at Kurt, taking his hand which left Kurt with even more confusing feelings. "My ancestors are vindicated to hear it's that straight forward," he stated. "It's still early here, but I'm assuming you want to see your mother. I can watch Finn if you'd like."

Finn completely missed the babysitting undertone in Jute's playful voice. "Actually, can I come? I'd like to meet Kurt's mom."

Kurt nodded, though he was sure he would break down. And didn't want to do it in front of either of them.. "We'll all go."

* * *

Burt had warned Kurt about his mother's appearance. Her pallor, the waxy texture of her skin, the fact that even though she was in a bed, her body was still refrigerated. Kurt didn't see any of it. "She's so beautiful."

Jute apparently agreed, replying with quiet awe, "Lying there, she reminds me of the Little Girl in the Wide Valley."

Finn had been staring quietly too, thinking how beautiful she was. And young, thanks to the stasis. How was his mom supposed to compete with that? But he turned to Jute, confused. "I don't think I know who that is. Did I meet her out in the waiting area?"

Jute chuckled, but Kurt just sighed. "No Finn. She'd a character out of a children's story. You wouldn't have heard it."

"Why?" Kurt sighed again, and Finn shut up. From the sounds of it, he was wrecking what was clearly an important moment with his stupid questions.

Finn just wished he could stop asking them. He got that sound a lot.

Kurt took his mother's hand, half believing that he could get her to wake up if she could just feel his hand. It was cold, but they'd assured him that it wouldn't break off if he held it. "Hi, Mom. I got here as soon as I could. You wouldn't believe everything that's happened since you got hurt. But don't worry. I'm keeping on top of everything. Even Dad and Grandmother."

"This is-" Kurt gestured to Jute and Finn. But then he looked at Finn, then back to his mother, before looking at Finn. "Never mind. It can wait until later." Finn was just about to feel insulted when Kurt turned back to him and mouthed 'sorry'.

"I wish I knew what to say to you," Kurt admitted to Kasha. "I'm gay. Grandmother told me what Dad told me, that everybody knew for years. So I guess you already know that."

"I think she knows about me, too," Jute admitted. "Our people have ways of knowing these things." Finn started. He had no idea that Jute was gay.

Kurt didn't notice either response. "I just- I thought it was important to tell you myself. I'm trying to live my life as honestly as I can, and I didn't want you to think I wasn't-" He choked back a sob, then suddenly turned to face the other two boys. His face was as pale as his mother's, but he didn't let his voice waver the least little bit. "Could you give me a few moments alone with my Mom?"

"Of course," Jute told Kurt, giving him a supportive hug. He and Finn had just gotten to the door when they heard that Kurt hadn't wanted privacy to talk to his mother, Kurt was just weeping.

Jute was about to go back, and intervene, but Finn pulled him out the door. It was all too clear to Finn now, what was going on. He'd never thought of Kurt as being attractive, but the president's grandson obviously thought so. And Finn felt it was his brotherly duty to keep his vulnerable almost-stepbrother shielded. "You know, Kurt has his whole life planned out on Earth," Finn told him. "He isn't going to get distracted by some sleazy prince."

"Sleazy!" Jute repeated, sounding thoroughly enamored with the description. "Did Kurt tell you about his family?"

"Yeah, they're like royalty or something."

"Something," Jute clarified. "Kurt's grandmother is the seat of spiritual authority among her people. She's beyond politics. Believe me, Finn-Hudson, if my intentions towards Kurt were merely 'fuck and forget', my grandfather wouldn't let me within a million miles of Kurt. Our grandparents' good working relationship is just too valuable."

Finn blushed, embarrassed that he'd said such a thing to a prince. Especially since, he had apparently completely misread the situation. "Sorry, I just-"

Jute smiled, not offended. "Don't worry about it. You love him, and you don't want him coming to live on the other side of the galaxy."

"Yeah. Geez, when my Mom and his Dad started dating, I never thought I'd have to worry about THAT."

Jute chuckled again, but then he turned back to Kasha's room with worry on his face. "I hope he's okay in there."

"He is," Finn nodded, wishing he was as sure as he sounded. "Kurt doesn't like to cry in front of other people. And he must have wanted to, because he wouldn't have sent us out of the room if he didn't."

"I didn't realize Kurt was so-" Jute broke off as he saw what appeared to be a doctor walk past. Apparently he was one of Kasha's doctors because Jute said, "[I've just been in to see Princess Kasha. She's been away for so much of her son's life. Is there ANYTHING that can be done at this point to revive her?]"

And yes, Finn did manage to catch the gist of that. He was rather proud of his Sateen learning skills.

The doctor didn't seem very positive, though. "[I don't know what you know about her condition, but the damage to her brain stem is preventing her from making her body work. So when we remove her from stasis, even for the brief periods we make repairs, her cells start to die off. That's why we have to wait for weeks in between sessions. If we did them more often, or did more during the sessions, her mind and body would start to fail, even in stasis.]"

Finn didn't quite understand that (and what he did get made him think he wouldn't understand it even if he was fully fluent), and had to wait until Jute translated. "It's too bad you couldn't just use your magic to keep her body running while you fixed it."

Finn blushed as Jute gaped at him, astonished. "Sorry," Finn told him. "Despite what you've heard, I've been known to come up with some really stupid ideas."

"That- That isn't actually that stupid. [Doctor, we already use Water shapers in first aid situations, and a strong Fire shaper should be able to keep her brain electricity intact. Wouldn't that keep her alive?]"

The doctor looked shocked at the idea. "[I don't know. Don't mention it to anyone yet, as we need to do some research. But it's possible.]" He certainly left in a big hurry.

Jute smiled at Finn, translating what he and the doctor had just said. "Congratulations, Finn-Hudson. You may have just made medical history."

(to be continued)


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry that this update has been so long in coming. As Christmas nears, I'm finding myself with less and less time to write. I have either one or two chapters left (depending on how overblown Kurt's trial gets), so I probably won't be finished for Christmas. But I'll do my best. And it'll for sure be finished before Glee's hiatus is over.

This chapter is an early Christmas present for those of you who are Kute fans.

The Star Prince - part six

"Oh my god, it's like being at the Superbowl! Kurt, why aren't you more excited?" Finn was definitely enjoying Kurt's game day much more than Kurt himself was. Yes, the Capital was festooned with enough decorations to see New York City through New Year's, Fourth of July, and two Pride parades. And being escorted through the city by Prince Jute, fire, was fairly heady (for admittedly shallow reasons). And it was nice that instead of being shunned and harassed, people were specifically coming up to him to introduce themselves and wish him luck. It was just-

What point was he going to make again?

Oh right, the well-wishers. "For YOU it's like being at the Superbowl," Kurt pointed out, anxiously. "For me it's like PLAYING in the Superbowl. Only instead of playing football, I've been a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader for the last sixteen years."

"Twenty," Jute clarified playfully. Kurt glared at him, but Jute just put a consoling hand on Kurt's shoulder. "[You'll do fine,]" he insisted.

Kurt was about to scold him for switching to Sateen standard in front of a not quite fluent Finn, but a voice called out from behind them, interrupting him. "[Oh, I'm sure he will. But Paysin is going to win.]"

Jute froze. He made a commendable turn to warmly greet the two boys that he apparently knew, but didn't like. "[Hey.]" Kurt wondered if he was the only one who could see the pain in Jute's eyes; and it seemed like Finn and the one who hadn't spoken (he reminded Kurt far too much of Karofsky, in build and attitude) hadn't noticed.

But the one who had spoken, that boy who was too beautiful for his own good, had seen it. Hell, he had the same look in his eyes. "[Prince Jute.]"

"[Ramie]," Jute breathed. There was an awkward silence.

The silence apparently lasted long enough for Finn to translate what Ramie had said, because he commented, "[Wouldn't count Kurt loss yet. Killed four guys already.]"

Kurt winced, and Ramie was frankly horrified by the announcement. "[That hardly compliments his abilities.]" Ramie insisted, grabbing the arm of the boy that still hadn't spoken. Kurt realized in very quick order that the two boys were dating, and that this hulking mass in front of him was Paysin, apparently his opponent for the trials.

Swell.

Although Jute already knew who Paysin and Ramie were, his look at their entwined hands indicated that he was just now finding out about their relationship. "[Really?]" Jute snarked to Ramie. "[I hope for your sake that he's not as sloppy in bed as he is on the field.]"

Ramie glared at him, offended. That look was turned to Finn, who'd understood enough of what Jute had said to start laughing. Kurt might have laughed too, if Jute hadn't looked so gutted. "[You've developed AMAZING taste in companions.]" Ramie snapped.

"[Look who's taking,]" Kurt told him. He moved between Jute and Ramie.

But Jute was already regretting what he'd said. And he stepped around Kurt with a grateful, but firm look. "[Can you guys give me a few moments alone with Ramie?]"

"[Hey!]" Paysin declared. "[I'm not going any-]"

Kurt cut him off with a pair of finger snaps in the face. "[Oh yes, you are.]"

Ramie didn't look like he wanted to talk to Jute, but he seemed unwilling to refuse. He murmured to Paysin, so low that Kurt could barely hear, "[It'll be fine.]"

Kurt turned his back to them and started back up the street, leaving Finn to follow. Paysin trailed briefly until he hurried up to walk beside Kurt. He smiled, clearly trying to make up for the earlier awkwardness. "[So you're Kurt-Hummel. You're cute.]"

"[You remind me of someone I can't stand.]" Kurt countered calmly, without so much as a sideways glance.

Had he been looking, Kurt would have seen Paysin wince. "[Look, I know it's awkward that your boyfriend and my boyfriend used to be together.]" Kurt's surprise (okay, so maybe it was obvious in retrospect) silenced his ready clarification that he wasn't actually dating Jute. "[But I don't want us going into this trial like it's some kind of grudge match. Especially if you kill me,]" he added teasingly.

Paysin couldn't pull off kidding charm the way Jute could, but Kurt did feel a little bad for prejudging him. "[I'm not going to kill you. That would kind of defeat the whole reason for me being here.]"

Paysin didn't know what to say to that, so he just ignored it. "[Look, can we just stop and eavesdrop on them?]"

And Kurt was back to judging him. "[You know how rude that is?]" Of course, Kurt had stopped translating for Finn three quips ago, so he couldn't talk. "[Fine.]"

But Ramie had already turned and started walking back the way they'd come. Paysin had to sprint to catch up to him. Jute walked calmly up to where Kurt and Finn were standing. He looked collected, but from what Paysin had just told them, Kurt couldn't assume that. "[You okay?]" Finn asked, surprising Kurt not only with the fact that he got that Ramie was Jute's ex, but that Finn was actually being sensitive about it.

And Jute was rambling. "Sorry about that. Ramie- he didn't used to be like that. I mean he's fine now, physically, but he didn't take me blinding him very well."

"You WHAT?" Finn yelped.

Jute winced. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up. You have enough to deal with today without worrying that you're going to seriously injure someone."

Kurt had actually been too concerned about how upset Jute was to think about it, but now that he'd brought it up, Kurt was finding it hard to get enough air into his lungs. Five. That would make five. Oh my Gaga, what am I doing here?

Jute immediately realized what was happening. "Oh, no Kurt. No. Breathe, Holiness. Come on."

The ridiculousness of the new nickname was gratefully enough of a jolt to snap Kurt out of hyperventilating. "What?"

Jute smiled sadly. "Have to get used to calling you that sooner or later."

Kurt forced all his fear and panic down with a near supernatural effort. As scared as he was, if he didn't do this he'd feel like this for the rest of his life. And damnit, he was not going to fall apart in the middle of a busy street. This would stop now.

He was not freaking out.

He was NOT.

Jute turned to Finn. "Kurt's father and grandmother should be at the Water Standard box by now. Maybe you should go on ahead to meet them. I'll get Kurt ready for the trial."

Finn didn't like that at all. "He's completely freaking out. I'm not going to just leave him."

"Yes you are, Finn." Finn and Jute both turned to Kurt, surprised. Kurt was pale, but his face was stony and determined. "I'll- I'll be fine."

* * *

Jute could still see the lie that was Kurt being 'fine' when they arrived at Kurt's change cubicle. He cursed himself to the coldest place on Sateen. Kurt had enough misgivings about this competition already. But he'd let his wounded pride make his words careless. And now Kurt was completely unnerved. "I've really screwed things up, haven't I?"

Kurt chuckled anxiously. "I'd have gotten here eventually."

"Would it help to hear how it happened?"

Kurt wasn't sure anything would help at that point but he nodded. "I'd already figured out that you'd hurt someone badly at your trial. I didn't realize you were in love with him."

"I was," Jute agreed, though he emphasized the word 'was'. "He was my first- well, my first everything. We'd been lovers since I was first able to ejaculate."

Kurt winced. "Okay, that's really romantic, but also a little creepy to hear about."

Jute smiled a little at that. "Perhaps. Ramie- I'm not sure what happened. The doctors insisted that there wasn't any brain damage, but he wasn't the same after it happened. He was so angry, said I'd put getting my title ahead of my relationship with him."

"That doesn't sound like you," Kurt pointed out.

"I hope it's not me," Jute admitted quietly. "I didn't think I had. I just- The field is the field. That's what my grandfather told me when he taught me to fight. So did my parents. I don't know how to not give it my everything when I'm up against someone."

Kurt was moved to give Jute a hug. "If he can't see how sorry you are, then it's his loss."

"This was supposed to make YOU feel better, not me," Jute reminded him with a sigh.

"Well, if I actually care about how you feel, maybe I do feel better," Kurt joked.

"Just remember that what happened to your mother can't ever happen again. You've seen the neck braces." Jute decided to add his own joke. "Beyond that, it's not like having a civil relationship with Paysin is that great a loss."

Kurt laughed at that. Jute felt confident enough to finally let go of Kurt (reluctantly) and examine his combat attire, already hanging here. "This is nice," he noted with obvious pleasure. "I can't wait to see you in it."

"After a lucky shot of Finn's peeled half my top off, I wasn't sure about wearing the traditional combat tunic. So this is what my grandmother came up with." Kurt decided not to remark on how he'd look in it, as it was almost indecent. Besides the neck brace, and bracings to keep his arm and thigh veins from being accidentally opened up on the field, all there really was to it was a pair of leatherette leggings and a breastplate.

He looked surprisingly sexy and badass in it, but it wasn't what he was used to. He had wondered what New Directions would think if they saw him in it. As it was, Finn had nearly swallowed his tongue.

It was an indication of how smooth Jute was (and how natural all this felt), that Kurt didn't realize he was being helped to change until his shirt was sliding off. Jute gasped appreciatively. "As beautiful as your clothing is, it completely hides how defined your body is." Kurt could see that Jute had to force himself not to rub his thumbs over Kurt nipples as they hardened. Kurt couldn't help but be disappointed by that.

"I always wanted more bulk," Kurt admitted. "Something you could see through a tight t-shirt."

Jute took Kurt's shirt away, but didn't seem willing to move away even enough to retrieve what Kurt would be wearing. "You underestimate your chest," Jute insisted.

Kurt's eyelids fluttered shut. This was so intimate, and the idea that Jute might actually want to fit his bracings….

He felt lips move against his. The sensation stopped almost as soon as he felt it, and his eyes snapped back open.

Jute didn't seem to have moved. Had Kurt just imagined that? No. Jute was definitely blushing. "What was that?" Kurt asked.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so forward. I just couldn't resist." Kurt continued to look puzzled, so Jute continued. "It's advanced element moving, not something you need to worry about in combat. I can touch the nerve endings in your body, unless it uses the water to shut me out, like you just did on reflex."

This time Kurt was blushing, but flushed with disappointment. He wanted more.

Kurt suspected he could do the same with the water if he was trained. But in the mean time, he moved forward to taste Jute's lips for himself.

Jute moaned, the small opening his lips formed with it successfully tempting Kurt into tasting the inside of Jute's mouth with his tongue. Jute returned the favor, and this time he really was running his hands over Kurt's nipples. All Kurt could think was 'let him touch me. Don't stop him from touching me'. It seemed to work, because he could feel a second, ghost sensation running down his sides.

Kurt had his arms around Jute's waist and he pulled Jute's hardness against his own. He wanted it. But there wasn't time. And Kurt still wasn't sure how much of this was a rebound from Jute's ex.

And Kurt lived on the other side of the galaxy.

Kurt could feel that ghostly touch sliding down his abs; moving towards his erection with Jute's hand right behind it. He pulled back while he still could. "As much as I'd like to work out my nerves on every square inch of your body-" That was a tactical error, because Jute's aroused moan ran across Kurt's skin like a freight train. "I should probably get changed."

Jute nodded, though his eyes were still glazed over. "Some other time, then." Jute made a quick move for the door, clearly needing (as Kurt had) to step back while he still could. He turned back to Kurt just before he would have walked out. "Kurt, I told you the trick to element bending, didn't I?"

Kurt shook his head, needing great effort to keep his eyes from wandering back down to the tent that was still forcing up the front of Jute's pants. "No. My grandmother says there isn't a trick to it."

"There's a trick to everything," Jute insisted, his eyes continually falling on Kurt's lips. "Anyone who says that there isn't has been doing it so long they've forgotten it's a trick."

"Oh. So what is it?"

"You have to see it in your head. See it happen, and it'll happen."

It was apparently true, because all Kurt could think of was Jute rushing over to him for one last kiss before he left. And that's exactly what happened.

(to be continued)


	7. Chapter 7

The Star Prince - Part Seven

Kurt was expecting the field to look like the Roman Coliseum, a sand covered circle filled with death and half naked men. Okay, so maybe he'd watched that new Spartacus series one too many times.

It looked almost like a park though. What vegetation there was had clearly been through a war or seventy, but there was a small stream and an ornamental fountain that sprayed fire. It surprised him at first, though given that this often ended up as a battle of elements as much as blades it made sense.

Paysin stood at the other side of the field, looking almost bored, and Kurt took a moment to actually consider him as a competitor. It wasn't encouraging. Paysin wasn't taller than Kurt, but outweighed him by probably thirty pounds. And Kurt had just realized he didn't know how well Paysin could move elements. Hell, he didn't even know which element Paysin moved.

The moderator's voice boomed out over the field. "[Our next match is Kurt-Hummel, water; son of Princess Kasha, water; grandson of Bebe, the Water Standard Bearer. Versus Paysin, solid; son of Rush and Sisal, solid]." Well, that answered that question at least.

Kurt had purposely avoided going to the trials until today, out of fear of psyching himself out. So he wasn't sure what was involved in the official announcement (except that Bebe had warned him that Burt would be snubbed in Kurt's, though only because official introductions used the two best known of the person's relatives, neither of which was his father). But Paysin drew his weapon and no one seemed to stop him, so that was apparently it.

Paysin had spent decades training for this moment, and Kurt would have looked pitiful trying to mount a traditional defense. So he didn't try. He remembered the first thing his mother had taught him:

"[They're going to be fast, Kurtling. If you don't think you can take the hit, don't be where they're aiming]."

Paysin missed his shot, and barely had time to redirect his shield end to counter Kurt's swing/stab combo. They traded a dozen more attacks, the few Kurt didn't dodge were easily parried. Paysin looked a little startled by the turn of events. The next time Kurt parried, Paysin leaned forward. Used his superior weight to shove Kurt backwards into the flame fountain.

Kurt felt the briefest moment of panic before seeing how easy it was to literally slice the flames off him with his own water moving. He looked up just in time to get a blast of dirt in his face. The fountain was snuffed out, and Kurt was momentarily blinded, somewhat ironically. He blinked it out quickly enough but Paysin had vanished in a heavy fog of grit.

Well, two could play at that game, Kurt thought as he pulled the stream into a heavy mist that pushed back the dirty darkness. Kurt thought back on the overall layout of the field, trying to figure out where Paysin would be coming from.

The answer came in the form of a tidal wave of dirt behind him. Kurt turned to counter, but Paysin's attack smashed through Kurt's fog, leaving the field clear and Kurt covered head to foot with mud.

Kurt was sure he could hear Ramie laughing. Marc Jacobs do I hate that bastard.

The mud was so wet though, that it was easy to remove. He gathered it up and send blast after blast of it at Paysin who dodged, not seeming to have enough solid there to just knock the dirt missiles out of the sky.

Jute was right; Paysin WAS sloppy. Kurt considered his options and found that he had hundreds. He grinned, months of tension and self doubt lifting like the fog just had. Paysin was going to lose today, but he wasn't going to die.

Four. Just four and no more.

Kurt charged with an uncharacteristic battle cry. He had an idea, something he knew about water that he didn't think anyone else did. But he had to get closer.

Paysin, as expected, panicked. Giving up on any finesse, he threw everything he had into attacking Kurt with the very ground under his feet.

Kurt jumped over the shattering dirt, grateful for once for Coach Sylvester insisting they do their back flips without hands. "This isn't hard!" she'd shrieked into her megaphone. "I once single handedly turned back the North Korean navy's attack on New York harbor! THAT'S hard!"

Kurt hit the ground and swung his dueling weapon directly at his opponent's. Paysin seemed tired after his outburst; if Kurt couldn't pull this off and was equally tired, he might be in trouble. So he'd better be sure he pulled it off.

Sateen was too hot on one side and too cold on the other. What was left in the middle was mostly land with a few smaller streams and rivers. It didn't have an ocean, like Earth did. And thanks to frequent viewings of Titanic, he was aware of how powerful that pressurized water could be.

See it and it'll happen.

Kurt swung at Paysin with the shield end of his weapon. Paysin, on seeing it, instinctively parried with the pronged end of his. It left the weapon parallel to the line between them and when Kurt pulled his shot, he was able to hook the middle of the opposing weapon with his own prongs.

Kurt put that image in his head of a submarine so deep that a crack would mean a crushing death. He drew up everything he had.

And he released that Deep Pressure into the tips of his dueling weapon.

Paysin must have attached his hands to his weapon with the solid moving power, because he held onto the dueling weapon as Kurt's blast shoved it up and back. Paysin went flying, landing on his back with a heavy grunt. His arms flung to each side.

A piece of his elegant weapon in each hand.

Kurt was on top of him, almost the instant he hit the ground. Kurt put his foot on Paysin's chest. The wince telling Kurt that the ribs under him were bruised but not cracked. Not that Paysin couldn't fix them if Kurt had.

But Paysin seemed too shocked to realize that he could easily put his weapon back together and carry on. He panted as Kurt put prongs to Paysin's neck. Paysin opened his hands, and after a second the two pieces of his dueling weapon hit the ground.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Kurt was starting to wonder if maybe he'd broken some sort of rule when the moderator's voice boomed again. "[The winner of this match, and all honors resulting: Prince Kurt-Hummel, water]."

Kurt hadn't had a chance to figure out which clans were sitting where, not until this moment when a loud roar of excitement came up from his left, drowning out the polite applause from the rest of the arena. The acoustics were so good he was sure he could hear his family, and his… Jute over the cheering.

Paysin finally pulled himself together enough to restore his dueling weapon and get to his feet. He was blushing, but seemed good natured enough about losing. "[Congratulations]."

"[Thank you]," Kurt beamed. He'd won something far greater than his title, or people's respect. He had his sanity back.

* * *

Carole was leafing through old photo albums of the Hummels when Burt and Finn came up the stairs from Finn and Kurt's room. Finn ran up to Carole and gave her an excited hug. "Hey! You wouldn't believe what a great time we had. It's so not fair that I can't even show Rachel the pictures I took. I have to have a talk with 'Prince Charming'."

"Where is Kurt?" Carole looked back at the basement door, a worry starting up in her. She'd reasoned away her concerns that her might-have-been-stepson could get hurt. But it hadn't occurred to her until that moment that Kurt might actually CHOOSE to stay on Sateen.

Burt saw the look in her eyes and gave her a comforting smile. "He'll be back in another half hour or so. Wanted one last moment alone with his mom."

Burt and Carole shared a moment of quiet, looking at each other. Finn finally realized it, and commented: "I left my camera in my bag. How about I give you guys a moment alone while I go get it?"

Carole was about to say that wasn't necessary, but Burt beat her to words with: "Thanks, kiddo."

Finn scurried off and all was silent again. Carole finally spoke. "So Kurt did okay?"

Burt smiled widely at her again. "Kurt was unbelievable. They put him with someone they thought was in the same league, skill-wise. But that kid didn't stand a chance. And to think President Aramid offered to give Kurt someone easy."

"I have a feeling that Sateen is always underestimating the Hummel men," Carole smiled.

Burt nodded. "You better believe it."

Carole took a deep breath and asked the question she'd been dying to have answered since the boys first left. "How is Kasha?"

Burt frowned. "She's awake a little bit, here and there. But mostly still the same. Carole, I-"

Carole turned around so that Burt couldn't see her cry. She tried to at least sound strong. "I completely understand. She was your first love, and she's Kurt's mom. I know how powerful seeing her again must have been. And getting to talk to her-"

Burt gently tugged her to face him. "It was. But it wasn't enough. I know it's not fair to keep putting you through this, but I can't make a decision on the future until Kasha is better. I- I'd understand if you said 'screw you' and gave up on me."

Carole's laugh was at once startled, and a little hopeful. "I didn't think I'd be the one doing any dumping here."

"And I really don't want you to," Burt insisted. "If you could give me more time- I know it's hard- "

Carole kissed him. She knew it wasn't sensible, but she still wanted this man. "I waited for sixteen years before I found you. It's not like I have anything else to do."

* * *

"[Kurtling.]"

Kurt turned away from his mother, to face his grandmother with a wry smile. "[You've been calling me that on purpose. Like mom did]."

"[I didn't want to get used to calling you little pogol when I knew full well you'd be an adult in a few weeks]," she reminded him.

Kurt shook his head at her nonchalance. "[This hasn't been at all a surprise, has it?]"

Bebe made a face, like she wanted to say something and couldn't. Instead, she reached into the bag she had with her. "[Presents for a new prince. A little too expensive, but after missing the last ten years, you're clearly owed.]"

Kurt straightened up, intrigued. "[Really?]"

Bebe pulled them out one by one, explaining as she went. "[You're going to need your own jumper to get here and back. These are the keys to the newest, fanciest transport on the planet. There's been quite a rush of volunteers to redecorate your rooms at the Thunder Palace, I have the best of their designs here. And this….]" She pulled out a shiny black coronet. "[This is the Quicksilver Tiara, your father tells me you still have a healthy interest in regal headwear.]"

Kurt watched with awe at everything his grandmother had gotten for him. Not there for him or not, prince or not, this was an insane haul. "[Thank you. Thank you so much.]" And there was that covering, almost guilty look again. He smiled wryly again. "[What do you want?]" he teased.

Bebe smiled, though she sighed at the same time. "[I have something to ask you and I KNOW you're going to say no. I presume you noticed how surprised everyone was at how your trial turned out.]"

"[Yeah,]" Kurt told her. "[I got the impression that everyone was expecting me to fall flat on my face.]"

"[No, they thought you'd at least gain your title. They wouldn't dare think otherwise.]" Bebe added with a slightly nasty smile.

"[You and Jute both taught me a lot about water moving,]" Kurt replied. "[That really made all the difference.]"

"[And that brings us to my request,]" Bebe told him. "[No one believed me when I said you'd inherited the full Water power. Not even your parents.]" Bebe paused with a small smile. "[Well, your grandfather did. Normally that power would warrant further training once your primary education concludes.]"

Kurt's mouth fell open in astonishment. "[You want me to move to Sateen?]"

"[Unless I can find someone willing to move to Earth for the few years it would take,]" Bebe answered. "[I know that doesn't fit with what you planned on doing with your life-]"

Kurt wasn't thinking about that right now. "[What would my responsibilities be if I trained?]"

Bebe was a little surprised by the question. "[Well, I suppose in the incredibly dim possibility that there was a war, you'd need to come home for it. But beyond that, nothing. We use element moving in everything so it doesn't merit a specific career choice.]" Bebe smiled. "[If you wanted to, you could go back to Earth and be a] 'gay vigilante'."

Kurt laughed at the image he got from that. "[I'm not graduating for another two Earth years. Can I think about it?]"

Bebe was even more surprised, and she smiled even wider. "[Of course. Thank you.]"

Kurt looked at his grandmother, realizing that it had been a week since he'd even said something mean to her. "[No, thank you. It must have been hard to come here after all these years. I appreciate it.]"

"[It was so many years only because I waited as long as I did,]" Bebe reminded him. "[You can't still blame yourself for this rift.]"

"[I think maybe it's time we got past blaming anyone,]" Kurt told her. He paused, gathering up his nerves, and gave Bebe a big hug. "[I love you, grandmother. I never would have been so angry at you if I didn't.]"

"[I know that now,]" Bebe replied, hugging him tightly. "[I love you, too. I'm rather selfishly hoping that you WILL come and stay, if only for a few years.]" When they finally separated, she had tears in her eyes but she tried to continue on lightly. [Now I am aware that this is pushing, but I should point out how glad Prince Jute would be to have you here.]"

Kurt sighed. "[Oh, I already know how glad Prince Jute would be to have me,]" he quipped. He turned back to his mother, thinking about how much it must have cost her to leave the world she was raised on. "[I just have no idea what I'm going to do about it.]"

* * *

Jute found his grandfather in the little office he still kept in the Capital Medical Facility. He was a little embarrassed that he didn't knock when he found Aramid examining some vials. "[Sorry. I didn't realize you were busy]."

Aramid started, but relaxed on seeing who'd interrupted him. "[Oh no, my boy. Come in]."

Jute sat across from his grandfather's desk while Aramid put away his samples. "[What is that?]"

"[This? It's a human drug my team came across when they were checking in on Prince Kurt-Hummel. They know how much I still like collecting new treatments]."

"[Do you think we can use it here?]" Jute asked, hoping to stave off a lecture on this drug's properties. He was never very good at science, and was more interested in results than theory. Jute's mother told him that was why he'd be such a good diplomat one day. He wouldn't let dogma get in the way of a settlement.

"[Unfortunately, no,]" Aramid told him. "[It has some various uses, but it's highly addictive. And long term use can cause severe psychosis.]"

Jute winced. "[I'm sorry I asked.]"

Aramid finished putting the drug away and turned to his grandson. "[So I hear you've been spending a lot of time with the new prince. What do you think of him so far?]"

Jute couldn't help but smile. "[He's amazing. I- I'm going to miss him when he returns to Earth.]"

"[Some of the best things in life require sacrifice.]" Jute wasn't sure why his grandfather glanced back at the drugs he was examining, but he didn't want to ask. The explanation was likely far more boring than it was useful.

"[I know that, grandfather.]"

"[Indeed. So what are you willing to risk to get Kurt-Hummel? Or more to the point, what are you willing to give up?]"

Jute frowned, confused. "[I don't follow.]"

"[Kurt-Hummel is going to be at school on Earth for the next two Earth years. If you want, I can have you set up on Earth in a few cycles. I did it for his mother, and my insertion techniques have only gotten better in the mean time. No one would know you weren't born there.]"

Jute was shocked. "[You can really do that?]"

"[Can and will,]" Aramid assured him. "[I've spoken to your parents, and they are willing to miss you for a few years if it may mean marriage to a Prince of the Elements.]"

"[Oh, grandfather,]" Jute sighed, exasperated. "[No one cares about such things.]"

"[My good relations with Bebe have been very lucrative for this family,]" Aramid countered firmly. "[A love match with the future Water Standard Bearer would be even more so. Your uncle even agrees, though of course he sighs that he will never again have an assistant with your tact.]"

Aramid laughed, but Jute didn't. He went to the window; despite his grandfather's importance, all he could see was an alley. Jute drew and examined his dueling weapon, and the fabric strip tied to it. "[I don't deny that my heart is much more at ease since I met Kurt. And I DO want him.]" He paused for only a moment before he untied that strip and let it fall to the floor. "[I'll do it. If you are all behind me on this, there isn't anything else holding me here.]"

The End

Yeah, I know. The story is finished for a second time, and I've left off with more unanswered questions and a big cliffhanger. But thematically, this story feels finished to me, and what happens with Kurt/Jute and Carole/Burt/Kasha needs its own storyline to play out in. I don't really know how long it's going to take to post the sequel, as I keep taking the entire story apart every other day to tinker with it, but I'll do my best. Thanks so much for your support.


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